TAIPEI, Taiwan — The Taiwanese government has recently placed Chinese tech giants Huawei Technologies and Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp (SMIC) on its export control list. This move comes amid rising tensions in trade and technology between Taiwan, China, and the United States.
Being on this “strategic high-tech commodities” list means that Taiwanese firms will now need special permits to sell products to these companies. Notably, this list also includes organizations deemed threats, such as the Taliban and al-Qaeda, as well as other companies from China and Iran.
The last update to this export control list occurred on Sunday. As of now, neither Huawei nor SMIC has publicly responded to their new status.
Both Huawei and SMIC have faced sanctions from the U.S. They are working to develop China’s most advanced artificial intelligence chips to compete with American companies like Nvidia and to provide crucial chips to Chinese tech enterprises affected by export limitations.
Taiwan is home to the world’s largest chipmaker, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), a key supplier for Nvidia. Last November, the U.S. instructed TSMC to stop providing certain advanced chips to Chinese clients, reflecting broader efforts to limit China’s access to cutting-edge technologies.
China maintains that Taiwan is part of its territory and has not ruled out using force to assert control. Meanwhile, the U.S. stands as Taiwan’s most significant unofficial ally and arms supplier.
